Numeri 34:15 (Numbers 34:15)

Posted on June 1, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 34:15 id est, duæ semis tribus, acceperunt partem suam trans Iordanem contra Iericho ad orientalem plagam.

that is, two and a half tribes, received their portion beyond the Jordan, opposite Jericho, toward the eastern side.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 id that NOM.SG.N.DEM
2 est is 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
3 duæ two NOM.PL.F.ADJ
4 semis and a half NOUN INDECL
5 tribus tribes NOM.PL.F 4TH DECL
6 acceperunt received 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND 3RD CONJ
7 partem portion ACC.SG.F 3RD DECL.OBJ
8 suam their own ACC.SG.F.POSS
9 trans beyond PREP+ACC
10 Iordanem the Jordan ACC.SG.M 3RD DECL
11 contra opposite PREP+ACC
12 Iericho Jericho INDECL
13 ad toward PREP+ACC
14 orientalem eastern ACC.SG.F.ADJ.POS
15 plagam side ACC.SG.F 1ST DECL

Syntax

Explanatory Formula: id est means “that is.” It introduces a clarification of the tribal groups named in the preceding verse: the tribe of Ruben, the tribe of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasse together constitute two and a half tribes.

Subject: duæ semis tribus is the subject of acceperunt and means “two and a half tribes.” duæ agrees with the feminine plural tribus, while semis supplies the additional fractional idea “and a half.”

Main Clause: duæ semis tribus acceperunt partem suam means “two and a half tribes received their portion.” acceperunt is the perfect active indicative verb, partem is its direct object, and suam refers back to the tribes as the possessors of that allotted portion.

Geographical Phrase: trans Iordanem means “beyond the Jordan.” trans governs the accusative Iordanem and locates the tribes’ inheritance on the opposite side of the river from the land whose boundaries were just described.

Locational Phrase: contra Iericho means “opposite Jericho.” contra governs the syntactically accusative, indeclinable geographical name Iericho and identifies the area across the Jordan facing Jericho.

Directional Phrase: ad orientalem plagam means “toward the eastern side.” ad governs the accusative plagam, and orientalem agrees with it. The phrase specifies that the allotted territory lies on the eastern side of the Jordan.

Morphology

  1. id — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: Demonstrative pronoun; Form: Nominative singular neuter; Function: Subject of est in the explanatory formula id est; Translation: “that”; Notes: The fixed expression id est introduces a clarification or restatement of what has just been said.
  2. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Third person singular, present active indicative, irregular verb; Function: Copular verb in the explanatory expression id est; Translation: “is”; Notes: Together with id, it forms the conventional Latin phrase meaning “that is.”
  3. duæ — Lemma: duo; Part of Speech: Adjective, cardinal numeral; Form: Nominative plural feminine; Function: Modifies tribus; Translation: “two”; Notes: The feminine form agrees with tribus, which is grammatically feminine.
  4. semis — Lemma: semis; Part of Speech: Noun used numerically; Form: Indeclinable fractional expression in this construction; Function: Adds the fractional value “a half” to duæ tribus; Translation: “and a half”; Notes: In the expression duæ semis tribus, it produces the collective sense “two and a half tribes,” referring to Ruben, Gad, and half of Manasse.
  5. tribus — Lemma: tribus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative plural feminine, fourth declension; Function: Subject of acceperunt, modified by duæ and quantified further by semis; Translation: “tribes”; Notes: The plural collectively summarizes the two complete tribes and the half-tribe named in the preceding verse.
  6. acceperunt — Lemma: accipio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Third person plural, perfect active indicative, third conjugation in -io; Function: Main verb with duæ semis tribus as subject and partem as direct object; Translation: “received”; Notes: The perfect tense states that these tribes had already received their allotted territory east of the Jordan.
  7. partem — Lemma: pars; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular feminine, third declension; Function: Direct object of acceperunt; Translation: “portion”; Notes: The noun refers to the territorial share or inheritance allotted to the two and a half tribes.
  8. suam — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: Possessive adjective; Form: Accusative singular feminine; Function: Modifies partem and refers back to the subject duæ semis tribus; Translation: “their own”; Notes: The reflexive possessive emphasizes that the portion belongs to the tribes who received it.
  9. trans — Lemma: trans; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Indeclinable preposition governing the accusative; Function: Introduces Iordanem to locate the tribes’ inheritance; Translation: “beyond”; Notes: The phrase identifies the territory as lying across the Jordan from the perspective of the land described in the preceding boundary section.
  10. Iordanem — Lemma: Iordanis; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Accusative singular masculine, third declension; Function: Object of the preposition trans; Translation: “the Jordan”; Notes: The river serves as the geographical dividing line between the inheritance of these tribes and the land west of the Jordan.
  11. contra — Lemma: contra; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Indeclinable preposition governing the accusative; Function: Introduces Iericho as the place opposite the allotted territory; Translation: “opposite”; Notes: Here contra has a spatial sense, indicating a location facing or across from Jericho.
  12. Iericho — Lemma: Iericho; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Indeclinable biblical geographical name functioning syntactically as accusative; Function: Object of the preposition contra; Translation: “Jericho”; Notes: Its form remains unchanged, while its syntactic case is determined by contra; it identifies the city opposite which the trans-Jordan territory lies.
  13. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Indeclinable preposition governing the accusative; Function: Introduces orientalem plagam; Translation: “toward”; Notes: The phrase specifies the geographical orientation of the tribes’ inheritance.
  14. orientalem — Lemma: orientalis; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: Accusative singular feminine, positive degree, third-declension adjective; Function: Modifies plagam; Translation: “eastern”; Notes: The adjective identifies the side east of the Jordan where the two and a half tribes had received their portion.
  15. plagam — Lemma: plaga; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular feminine, first declension; Function: Object of the preposition ad; Translation: “side”; Notes: In this geographical context plaga denotes a side or region, here specifically the eastern side.

 

About Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Born around 346 A.D. in Stridon, St. Jerome was a scholar fluent in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew whose ascetic discipline and deep engagement with Scripture prepared him for a monumental task: translating the Bible into Latin. Commissioned by Pope Damasus I around 382 A.D., Jerome began by revising the flawed Old Latin Gospels, then expanded his work to the entire Bible. For the New Testament, he corrected Latin texts using Greek manuscripts; for the Old Testament, he translated most books directly from Hebrew—a controversial but principled choice. His final Psalter, however, followed the Greek Septuagint tradition for liturgical use. This composite translation, later known as the Vulgate (editio vulgata), became the authoritative biblical text of the Western Church, formally endorsed at the Council of Trent in 1546. The Vulgate’s influence extends beyond theology into textual criticism and Latin education. As one of the earliest translations grounded in original-language scholarship, it offers a vital witness to the state of biblical texts in late antiquity. Jerome’s lexical and syntactic decisions are studied to trace manuscript history and assess variant readings. Its elegant Latin, consistent in grammar and rich in vocabulary, became a model for medieval and Renaissance learning, bridging classical and ecclesiastical Latin. More than a translation, the Vulgate helped define Christian doctrine, preserved the Latin language, and laid essential groundwork for the critical study of Scripture—remaining indispensable to students of Latin, theology, and textual history.
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